Category Archives: Pro-Life

“Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My”

Anyone who knows me knows that I love cats.  Cats, to me, are truly wonderful companions found in creation and a gift from God.  Along those same lines, lions are among some of the most beautiful and majestic animals to be admired in creation.  BUT, I am so tired of hearing all of the outrage over the death of a lion in the wake of the horrific atrocities that are being committed by Planned Parenthood.  It is only man who is created in the image and likeness of God.  Speaking to the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” That does not begin and end with Jeremiah, that is true of everyone of us who are living AND those who have never lived on earth because of abortion. God knows their names as well – all 55-60 million of the babies who have never lived on this earth.  They are welcome in Heaven, even if they were not welcome here on earth.

The dentist who killed the lion is being sought for extradition back to Zimbabwe to stand trial – seriously?  I get that the lion was killed illegally, but when did we, as a race of people, become so twisted in our thinking that someone who kills a lion while hunting is a murderer but the hundreds of PP workers who kill babies on a daily basis and then sell their body parts are allowed to continue with impunity?  Animal rights activists are all about the animal with no regard for the fact that it the human race to which God granted reason and an ability to commune with Him.  God gave the human race dominion over the earth: “Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth” (Genesis 1:26).   Likewise, in Genesis 1:28 God says “God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth.”  We are definitely commanded, through these passages of scripture to act as God’s agents on this earth and to take care of it and to be good stewards of what He has given us.  Of course that means that we are not to destroy the earth or be cruel to animals but that does not mean that it is OK to destroy one another or worse yet those most helpless among us – the unborn.

Life is precious and ALL LIFE IS SACRED and ALL LIVES MATTER.  Unfortunately, some believe only certain lives matter and only some lives are worth saving.  Is it sad that Cecil, the lion was killed?  Sure, of course it is.  But when did you last weep over the unborn and think how sad it is that an individual was just killed?  Are we weeping at the images of the torn body parts, over the clear image of the hands, feet, head, etc. of the baby just ripped from its mother’s womb? We need a better understanding of the proper order of things – only man was created in His image.

Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

This week the House of Representatives passed HR1797 – “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act”.  This bill will restrict abortions from 20 weeks forward in all 50 states.  Of course the Senate will ignore the bill and President Obama, the most abortion minded president this country has ever seen, would veto it if it reached his desk.  The House took up this legislation in light of the Kermit Gosnell conviction in Philadelphia a few weeks ago and the usual rhetoric from the left has surfaced.  Nancy Pelosi is recorded as saying “yet another Republican attempt to endanger women. It is disrespectful to women. It is unsafe for families and it is unconstitutional.”  It is always interesting to me how the Constitution is always brought into this debate and yet Nancy Pelosi also said, when asked directly by a reporter about Gosnell, that this should not be about politics because this issue of a woman’s right to choose was “sacred ground” to her as a practicing Catholic.  The last time I looked at the Constitution I saw a phrase in there that said we have the “RIGHT TO LIFE.”  Interesting, I know.  When it comes to the abortion debate, Mrs. Pelosi is happy to invoke the Constitution when she feels like something has trampled on her right or anyone’s right to choose death, but when faced with the real question of the murder of innocent lives, we need to leave the Constitution out of the debate because it’s not a political issue.  I just wish for once, our politicians would stop talking out both sides of their mouth and face the truth here.  The plain and simple truth is that abortion is MURDER!  There is no way around this, the medical facts prove that a fetus is a living human being and he/she can most definitely feel pain when killed in the gruesome manner of a late term abortion.

This bill passed the house by 228-196 margin, with six democrats voting in favor of the legislation.  This really is a victory, even if the Senate does ignore the bill.  It’s a victory for the pro-life movement because this legislation seeks to restrict and not merely control the abortion procedure.  Marjorie Dannenfeiser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List said this is what makes this legislation different from past pieces of abortion legislation.  She has indicated that this is a significant step forward in the fight to end all abortion in America.  Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, called it “the most important pro-life bill to be considered by the U.S. Congress in the last 10 years.”  I also believe this is a victory for the Pro-life movement because it keeps this issue on the national stage.  The last thing we want is for the debate to die out because Gosnell is in jail now and for people to think – “wow, glad that’s over, hope nothing like that will ever happen again.”  This is happening all over the country!  If you live in Maryland, it’s happening right in your own back yard in Germantown as Carhart continues to perform late term abortions with no consequences over Jennifer Morbelli’s death.  The Maryland Department of Health has decided that there was no malpractice by Carhart and no reason to revoke his license.  We know that abortion is malpractice and is a blight on the medical profession.  We know through Abby Johnson’s ministry (And Then There Were None) how difficult it is for abortion clinic workers to leave the profession.  It’s like a black mark on their resumes to have to put down that you worked as an abortion provider or a clinic worker.  Why is that?  Because deep down everyone knows that all abortion is bad and all abortion is wrong. However, if I had to put this in categories, late term abortion would be worse than abortion in the first trimester because of the brutality involved and the pain that is felt by the baby.  This is why this legislation is important – because it restricts and not just controls the abortion procedure.  This debate must stay fresh in people’s minds and this legislation will help facilitate keeping the debate front and center.

The Gruesomeness of Gosnell

As the Kermit Gosnell trial has been proceeding, I’ve remained silent for no other reason than this is all so gruesome I just could not bring myself to even read the reports. I sit back at times and I wonder who these people are, the likes of Carhart, Gosnell, and any other abortion provider? How do they sleep at night? If they have even the smallest amount humanity in them, they certainly are aware that they are killing another human being when they perform abortions. But then, I have to even wonder if they even are human anymore. Are they so influenced by the enemy of our souls and so driven by him to destroy the image and likeness of God that there is no humanity left. I don’t know the answer to that question, only God does and that is for Him to deal with and for us to continue pray for these individuals.

I felt like the time had come to speak out about Gosnell because of an article I read in the Huffington Post. The Huffington Post is a liberal online newspaper and they posted an article on March 26, 2013 entitled “The Questions No One Is Asking About The Kermit Gosnell Case” by Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League). Her article asks with such unbelief – How could this happen? How in this country where abortion has been legal for 40 years could such a thing ever happen. Her answer was astonishing to me. Ms. Michelman surmised that this happened because the state of Pennsylvania was so intent on passing abortion restricted legislation and completely missed the fact that someone was performing a medical procedure unsupervised. But had this clinic been a Planned Parenthood clinic there would have high medical standards set in place these tragedies could never have occurred. Wow – really???? I don’t know, maybe we should consider the high standards that were put in place at the Delaware Planned Parenthood clinic and compare tragedies. According to Operation Rescue, the Planned Parenthood clinic in Delaware had four botched abortions in the span of five weeks and to top it off they are a training facility for other abortion providers! Now that’s what I call a high standard. According Operation Rescue, fifiteen new abortionists a year are trained in these high quality medical procedures at the Wilmington, DE clinic.

According to Ms. Michelman “Reputable, careful providers of high quality abortion care are under attack” and “the number of abortion providers in the United States declined 38 percent between 1982 and 2005.” Additionally, Ms. Michelman states:

“To compound the provider shortage problem, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a new law in 2011 modeled after a bill on the wish list of the National Right To Life Committee: mandating that the remaining handful of abortion providers come into compliance with volumes of costly regulations designed for ambulatory surgical facilities where much more complex surgeries take place. Today, there are just 13 freestanding providers of surgical abortion care in Pennsylvania, down from 22 two years ago.”

I would think this would make her happy. The Pennsylvania legislature has mandated that abortion facilities come into compliance with regulations designed for surgical facilities. She stated earlier in her article when asking the question of how this happened that the reason was “our policymakers have never viewed abortion as a medical procedure.” Seems to me that the 2011 law takes care of that problem.

Simply stated – abortion is NOT healthcare and never will be. It is a greedy money making institution that seeks to repress minority groups by making them believe that providing abortions at low or no cost is adding quality to their healthcare. There is no care for women here whatsoever, regardless of any social or financial standing. There is only the “love of money; which is a root for all kinds of evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10)

    References


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-michelman/kermit-gosnell-abortion_b_2924348.html
http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/competency-of-planned-parenthoods-training-program-questioned-after-rash-of-botched-abortions/

Applauding North Dakota

The Governor of North Dakota, Jack Dalrymple is about to sign into law a bill banning abortions in North Dakota after 6 weeks which is an absolutely amazing step in the right direction for a change.  In addition, there is a second bill on the Governor’s desk that will also ban abortions when a fetal abnormality has been discovered.  (If a ban on abortions in the case of a fetal abnormality was universal, we know that Jennifer Morbeli would most likely be alive today.)  In a time when “blue” states are looking for ways to loosen the abortion restrictions even further, this is a bright light shining in the darkness.  Aside from this new restriction, North Dakota only has ONE abortion clinic in the entire state and even then women must wait 24 hours between scheduling an appointment and arriving at the clinic.  Once she is in the clinic there is counseling, verification of pregnancy, and testing that could last up to five hours, all things that could slow down the decision to go through with the abortion.  North Dakota also does not take Medicaid money for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or protecting the life of the mother.  According to an article in Time magazine, we are definintely trending in the right direction. 

“In the past two decades, laws like the ones that govern appointments at Red River have been passed with regularity as pro-life state legislators have redrawn the boundaries of legal abortion in the U.S. In 2011, 92 abortion-regulating provisions–a record number–passed in 24 states after Republicans gained new and larger majorities in 2010 in many legislatures across the country. These laws make it harder every year to exercise a right heralded as a crowning achievement of the 20th century women’s movement. In addition to North Dakota, three other states–South Dakota, Mississippi and Arkansas–have just one surgical-abortion clinic in operation. The number of abortion providers nationwide shrank from 2,908 in 1982 to 1,793 in 2008, the latest year for which data is available. Getting an abortion in America is, in some places, harder today than at any point since it became a constitutionally protected right 40 years ago this month.”

This is finally some good news to read and should inspire us all to keep praying and know that there is hope; little by little the light will dispel all of the dark places in the land!

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2132761,00.html#ixzz2Okuo4PkL

Day 12 Reflection by Carmen Pate – 40 Days for Life Campaign

Pray to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, to end abortion in America.

SCRIPTURE

 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.

— Ephesians 3:20-21

 REFLECTION by Carmen Pate, 40 Days for Life

God’s power working in and through His people is unlimited and far beyond our comprehension when we submit to God’s Word and Spirit. He receives glory when we are obedient to His calling and faithfully serve Him in His strength.

Consider God’s hand of providence on this nation because of the faithfulness of a few who were totally committed to God and His truths.  It is interesting to note the words of Mother Teresa  of Calcutta: “Yours is the one great nation in all history which was founded on the precept of equal rights and respect for all humankind, for the poorest and weakest of us as well as the richest and strongest.”

Mother Teresa, in addressing the Supreme Court of the United States said, “Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being’s entitlement by virtue of his humanity. I have no new teaching for America. I seek only to recall you to faithfulness to what you once taught the world. 

She continued, “Your nation was founded on the proposition very old as a moral precept, but startling and innovative as a political insight that human life is a gift of immeasurable worth, and that it deserves, always and everywhere, to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect.”

It is time to restore that dignity and respect. Our God is able. Are we willing to remain faithful until His work through us is done?

PRAYER

God Almighty, Who is powerful and willing to supply, our hearts cry in unison for You to restore dignity and respect to human life, not only in America, but around the world. 

Lord, may our hearts remain faithful to your calling, and may You begin Your transforming work with me.

Keep me ever mindful that with You Lord, nothing is impossible; without You, I can do nothing. To You be glory forever and ever, Amen.

Another tragic loss

Another tragic event has scarred Maryland with the death of a 29 year old woman on Thursday, February 8, 2013 in Germantown, MD.  Through the careless butchering of Leroy Carhart, Jennifer Leigh Morbelli and her baby are both dead.  Mrs. Morbelli was a kindergarten teacher from White Plains, NY who, at 33 weeks pregnant, decided that she could not have her baby.  The Maryland Coalition for Life and Operation Rescue have both reported that Mrs. Morbelli was looking forward to the birth of her daughter, Madison Leigh.  So what happened?  I don’t know and we may never know the whole truth of this situation.  Only God knows the whole truth behind this tragedy. 

This morning, February 11, 2013 in Germantown, MD, the Maryland Coalition for Life organized a press conference and invited the media.  There was an impressive list of pro-life groups represented at this conference including The Maryland Coalition for Life, Priests for Life, The Christian Defense Coalition (could not locate a web address), Students for Life, the National Black Pro-Life Coalition, Center for Human Dignity from the Family Research Council, the Susan B. Anthony List, Alliance Defending Freedom, and the Archdiocese of Washington.  A representative from each of these groups spoke at the press conference and everyone expressed the same sorrow and horror over this event and the same anger over the fact that Leroy Carhart is in his clinic today with two new patients.  Two women arrived yesterday to begin the same four day abortion procedure that killed Mrs. Morbelli.

Michael Martelli of the Maryland Coalition for Life called upon the state of Maryland do a number of things in response to this tragedy.  He called upon them to investigate this murder, close down the clinic, revoke the Dr. Carhart’s medical license, ban late term abortions in the state of Maryland, give serious review to the safety of these procedures, and pass a fetal pain law in the state which would protect babies at 20 weeks gestation and beyond. 

Certainly this was a tragedy that did not need to occur.  Why Mrs. Morbelli and her family felt that having an abortion at 33 weeks was their only option, I’ll never know.  But what I do know is that family is suffering today.  Mother and child are expected to be interred together later this week.  I don’t know if she had other children, but there is a husband who is dealing with enormous loss today.  We must pray for the Morbelli family, for the repose of the soul of Jennifer Leigh Morbelli and daughter Madison, and for Leroy Carhart.  Perhaps he will finally wake up to the devastation he is causing.  Perhaps he will have an epiphany and the scales will be removed from his eyes.  We must be careful to never judge but to always pray for Dr. Carhart and all those involved in the abortion industry – that the goodness of the Lord will lead them to repentance.

“But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:2-4)ImageImageImage

Marking 40 Years of Roe

Today marked the commemoration of 40 years of legalized abortion in America.  It is unfortunate that the events of this week even had to take place.  This is a truly sad commentary on a nation that is willing to kill more than 55 million of her children.  On the sidewalk, in front of the Supreme Court this afternoon, The International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church with Archbishop Craig Bates and Fr. Terry Gensemer of CEC for Life led us in a litany for the pre-born.  This was a beautiful service that committed, to God, all of precious babies who have died in this last year at the hands of abortionists across the land.  It was an opportunity for us to seek God’s forgiveness for the sins of our Nation and to thank Him and praise Him for his mercy and grace.

We shared the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court today with a pro-choice group of about 50-75 people who shouted and chanted “abortion on demand without apology,” “a fetus is not a baby,” and “women are not incubators.”  In the midst of their chants were those who cheered and laughed, shouted and screamed as if they were at a sporting event.  I felt very sad for that group of individuals – how can you cheer on death and be so jubilant about the fact that someone can legally kill another individual, an individual who has no means of fighting for their own life.  I prayed that someone from that group would see the light of Christ in us, that God would breakthrough to one person’s heart.

I was so blessed by the many young adults that I saw in the crowd today. Their enthusiasm and their passion for life is truly infectious.  Their energy level is high and nothing will stop these young people.  This is the survivor generation – the generation born after 1973 – the generation that will be instrumental in bringing an end to abortion in America!

As we move from 2012 to 2013 – a few thoughts

As we have crossed over from 2012 into 2013 I’m taking some time to reflect on events of this past year in light of the circumstances we are about to find ourselves in across this nation.  As the media tells us in this 11th hour that we are indeed about to go over the “fiscal cliff”, even if for only one day, I have to wonder how we got here.  While great minds in Washington try to solve enormous problems of trillion dollar deficits, raising taxes or not raising taxes, and cutting spending our nation continues to suffer.  We hope and pray that someone somewhere comes up with the solution to solve these problems; we hope that suddenly there will be a creative solution that no one has yet thought of, but sadly that will not be the case.

Why is that?  Why can’t someone come up with the creative solution that will make everyone happy and solve this great looming crisis?  Well, the truth is that no matter what great plan is conceived it will not work if it is not God ordained.  We pray for God to bless our nation, but can He really do that?  We are a nation that has seen fit to murder more than 55 million of her children.  America has become the valley of slaughter as mentioned in Jeremiah chapter 7 (see Jeremiah 7:30-34).   This passage in Jeremiah says that because the people of Judah allowed their children to pass through the fire and be burned, something the Lord DID NOT command, Jerusalem will become a desolate place.  American has allowed her children to pass through the fires of burning saline abortions and worse for the past forty years.  That essentially amounts to entire generation of children that have been lost and we wonder why the nation is in such bad shape.  The Lord says He will bring an end to joy and gladness in the city because of this behavior.

The thing that everyone is so focused on right now is the financial side of this cliff, but the cliff truly has many sides.  Some will go over the cliff and others will get caught in the landslide at the bottom. In just this past year we seemed to have had one tragedy after another related to the violent use of guns.  Seriously troubled individuals are moved by evil to kill many innocent and unsuspecting people and no one is off limits, not even small children.  Crazy weather continues plague the nation and cause devastation and loss that is unimaginable and there is more fear about the world ending and the destruction of global warming than ever before.  Man just continues to respond to these tragic events with more calls for gun control and laws to create a greener more sustainable environments.  Honestly, I think that we have just continued shaking our fists at God and saying we don’t need You!  We can take care of this all by ourselves, go away!  The government is working on becoming more and more involved in our individual lives by mandating the kind of health care that is offered, by trying to create greener safer environments through energy legislation, and creating a false sense of security for its citizens through the promise of more gun control.  These government solutions will never be the answers we so desperately need.  Our answer is found only in God.  If we do not turn our hearts back to God and stop apologizing for our Judeo/Christian heritage, we will end up desolate just as Jerusalem did in Jeremiah’s day.

Where do we begin?  We start by ending the slaughter of the innocent.  On January 25, 2013, the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade will be marked by the march in Washington, DC.  Over the years great progress has been made in slowing down the advances of Planned Parenthood and others whose sole purpose is promoting abortion.  Ministries such as 40 Days for Life have seen great successes, not only in women who change their minds about having an abortion, but also in seeing abortion clinics close down.  Abby Johnson’s ministry (And Then There Were None) has seen 40 clinic workers leave the industry in its first year of operation (2012).  These are great victories but there is so much more work to be done.  There is always hope though – we have not become completely desolate yet.  God says His mercies are new every morning, His compassion does not fail, and above all, He is faithful.  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him and who seek Him (Lamentations 3:22-25).  Please join me in 2013 as I purpose to seek the Lord more earnestly and pray more faithfully for those in the seats of power.  It is only in Him that our nation will be saved.

Post Election Pro-Life Persistence

Planned Parenthood has released a brand new logo in celebration of their victory this week by the re-election of Barack Obama.  In a press release that the abortion giant put out on Tuesday they claim:

“This is a resounding victory for women. More than ever before, women’s health was a decisive issue in this election. Americans today voted to ensure that women will have access to affordable health care and be able to make their own medical decisions,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

“This election sends a powerful and unmistakable message to members of Congress and state legislatures all around the country that the American people do not want politicians to meddle in our personal medical decisions, and that politicians demean and dismiss women at their own peril,” Richards said.

 This is hardly a victory for women.  Along with the new logo, the new tag line is “Care. No matter what.”  Really?  I’m wondering how are women being cared for when there is story after story from organizations such as Live Action, Life News, and Life Site News concerning the number of women who are injured from botched abortions performed at Planned Parenthood clinics.  I’m also baffled about the issues around sex selection and abortion that is so heavily promoted by Planned Parenthood.  Thanks to Live Action, this horror has been exposed.  Is this “Care.  No matter what” to encourage women to abort their child because it happens to be a girl?  What has happened to us in America?  Planned Parenthood invested $15 million dollars in getting Barack Obama re-elected.   Now that’s been accomplished and Cecile Richards further states that“we will focus on working with lawmakers at all levels, from all political parties, to ensure that millions more Americans can get the health care they need.”

This is all very confusing.  On the one hand, Ms. Richards states that the American people do not want politicians to meddle in our personal medical decisions, yet on the other hand, she suddenly wants to begin working with politicians on both sides of the aisle to make sure that we all get the health care we need.  Well, which is it Ms. Richards?  You can’t have it both ways.  Either Planned Parenthood wants the government involved, so they can continue funneling our tax dollars into the abortion industry or Planned Parenthood doesn’t want them to “meddle”.

So, what do we do with all of this?  We NEVER  give up.  We are the church militant!  We continue to be persistent in our pro-life efforts.  We continue to pray at abortion clinics, we continue to march for life, and we continue to reach people one soul at a time.  The best thing that I’ve read so far are the words of Archbishop Craig Bates, the Patriarch of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church.  He said the following – “We must reach out to single women who have been deceived into believing that the right to choose an abortion is freedom rather than inflicting upon themselves guilt and torment that could last for years.”  Preserving the sanctity of life is the most important issue facing our nation today, not the economy as some may think.  I believe God will bless the economy when we honor Him by preserving the sanctity of human life.  It is the image and likeness of God that is being destroyed in every abortion and as we reach out to single women, as Archbishop Bates suggests, we have the opportunity to reach them with the truth that they were fearfully and wonderfully made as well as the child they carry.

Final Thoughts on the 40 Days for Life Campaign – November 6, 2012

I can only say what a blessing it was to me to have the opportunity to participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign for the very first time.  I had no idea what to expect or how this was going to work out, especially since the time slot I ended up choosing was a 6AM slot.  God’s grace was definitely with me throughout the time, enabling me to keep the commitment and be on site to pray everyday of my commitment with a few exceptions – the morning I blew a tire on my way to the clinic and the 2 mornings after hurricane Sandy – I prayed without being at the abortion clinic.

Some mornings were harder than others, no doubt, but God was so faithful to meet me in prayer and to give me amazing things to pray.  There were times that I surprised myself with some of things I heard myself praying.

As far as Dr. Carhart’s Germantown abortion clinic is concerned, I believe we accomplished much in the Spirit.  The campaign director for Germantown sent out this information to all of us:

700+ hours of prayerful presence on Wisteria

-over 500 prayer warriors from 20 churches joining together

-2 abortion workers are no longer at Germantown Reproductive Health Services

-No abortions for two weeks!

This is exciting news, especially the fact that there were no abortions for two weeks in row in Germantown.  The information out of the international campaign is just as exciting.  The final numbers are not in yet but so far we know that globally 608 babies have been saved from abortion.

The devotional below that was sent out to all 40 Days for Life prayer warriors after the 40th day.  It makes realize that there are multiple ways to storm the gates of Hell.  Prayer, of course is number one.  But today is election day in the United States and by casting our votes on behalf of life is another way of coming against the gates of Hell!

INTENTION
Pray that the witness of 40 Days for Life bears abundant fruit, and that we begin again each day to storm the gates of hell until God welcomes us into the gates of heaven.

SCRIPTURE
On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
— Matthew 16:18

REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone

When we read this verse, we usually think that the Lord is promising that the church, which is His Body, will withstand all the attacks launched against it.  Of course, that is true.  But when we think about it more carefully, we realize that in a battle, the gates do not run out into the battlefield to attack the enemy. Rather, they stand still to defend the city from the enemy attacking it.  So when the Lord says that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church, who is doing the attacking? It is the church storming the gates!  The church, all of  God’s people in Christ, is called to take the offensive, to run into enemy territory, and to gain ground for Jesus Christ. We do not wait for an invitation; we already have a command. We  prepare, but we do not wait for circumstances to be perfect; we already have one who has gone before us.

During these 40 days, we have stormed the gates. We have taken the offensive. We have pushed forward the boundaries of the kingdom. And we must keep doing so, in numerous ways. Indeed, the gates of hell will not prevail. The gates of falsehood will flee in the presence of truth. The gates of sin will melt in the presence of grace. The gates of death will fall in the  presence of the church, the People of Life!

PRAYER

Father, we praise you. We have heard the voice of your Son, and therefore we can make our voices heard.  We have done battle with the power of evil, and therefore we can have compassion on those still within its grip. We have been freed from the kingdom of darkness, and therefore we can bear witness to your Kingdom of Light.

May the witness of all your people through these 40 Days for Life bear abundant fruit, and may we begin again each day to storm the gates of hell until You welcome us into the gates of heaven. We pray in the victorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.